Ankle debridement

climbingpixie

I had one done arthroscopically on Tuesday to remove a bone shard from the gutter of my ankle and also to get rid of a large bone spur. Not seeing the physio until next Thursday so obviously the best thing to do is ask a load of internet randoms about my prognosis

At the moment I have a massive aircast on and using crutches to get around. Pain's not too bad as I'm doped up on Solpadol and diclofenac. I'm allowed to put about 50% of my weight through my bad leg when wearing the cast, none without the cast, and have been signed off work for a fortnight to recover.

Just wondered if anyone on here had one of these and got any idea about lay offs from cycling - either on or off road? I assume I'lll be able to swim as soon as the stitches are out but have been told I'm looking at 6 weeks to 3 months off climbing.

Any help or advice appreciated, cheers!

Dr_Death

TBH if they have said 6-12 weeks for climbing then you are probably looking at a fairly similar amount of time off the bike I would have thought; both are weight bearing exercises.

butcher of bakersfield

I imagine climbing puts a lot of force into your feet, tbh. Yeah, biking does the same, but I think the lack of strength, and resulting pain would be much more noticeable climbing, even when you think it's about healed. A mate of mine who I ride with shattered his ankle ten years ago. And since it barely moves now, he can't do a great deal, but he gets on fine on the bike. He has more difficulty walking!

That said, be patient and wait for it to heal. Rest until the pain subsides, then start gentle exercise, stretching and strengthening. Standing on one foot, rotate your foot while you're watching TV, stuff like that. Only you know when it's ready to ride again..

If you do get impatient, and take the bike out for a gentle spin, don't hit the brakes too hard..it fucking smarts

Frodo1095

Get a turbo trainer.

I broke my ankle and leg in a few places many years ago playing rugby and was advised to cycle to build strength in the leg, found using a turbe trainer useful as I could spin easily and didnt put a huge amount of pressure on the joint while I built up the surrounding musculature to support it.

antfly

I had something called Haglunds Deformity on my heel, it`s like a bone spur but bigger,and had an operation [not arthroscopically} and on crutches for a few weeks. You can swim as soon as the stitches are out and there is no reason not to do a bit of light cycling but your leg will feel a bit weak. I doubt you would want to go walking for a few weeks though. My surgeon didn`t give me any time limits just said I could do what I felt like.

climbingpixie

Cheers for the advice on this. I'm not too worried about being able to put weight through it and go on a cycling machine, was just worried about MTBing in particular as going over drop offs etc can put an impact through my feet and ankles. Guess I'll see what the physio says on Thursday...

butcher of bakersfield

climbingpixie wrote:

...was just worried about MTBing in particular as going over drop offs etc can put an impact through my feet and ankles.

That's the thing. Once it's on the mend a gentle ride may be fine. But if you're riding trail centers and the like you're tasking a risk, as it may be fine, if you get to the bottom smoothly, but it just takes that awkward impact on a rock, or drop off, and what you'll normally take in your stride can potentially set you back a month or two, if not worse.